Apparatus for the treatment of gold or other ores.



No. 725,864. 'PATENTED APR. 21, 1903.

W. B. MCPHERSON. APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF GOLD OR OTHER ORES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1902.

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1 Io.725,864=. PATENTED APR;21,1903.

W. B. McPHERSON.

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF GOLD OR OTHER ORES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1902.

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UNITED STATES TATENTY Frrcnl \VILLIAM B. MCPHERSON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 725,864, dated April 21, 1903. Application filed November 28, 1902. Serial No. 133,141. (No modehl To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM BrlVIOPHER- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented and discovered a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for the Treatmentof Gold, Silver, or other Ores; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and-use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for the treatment of gold and silver ores and other ores; and the objects of my improvement are, first, to provide a combination of devices so arranged that more profitable results are accomplished than heretofore obtained; second, to connect the parts of the apparatus together in such a manner that the ores subjected to treatment are economically manipulated; third, to construct the apparatus so that a single charge of ore once introduced into the apparatus may be kept continuously agitatedand moved in cycles until all the metal sought to be extracted has been eliminated, fourth, to assemble a series of novel devices each of which in turn facilitates the carrying on of an advantageous operation until the complete extraction of the metal from the ore has been performed; fifth, to so arrange the various parts of the apparatus in order that a single charge of ore may be repeatedly passed through parts orthrough the entire apparatus exposed to the air until all the desired metal or metals have been completely extracted, and, sixth, to subject to an electric current in one part of the apparatus the solvents holding in solution the metallic substances whereby the metal is deposited and the chemical solvent is regenerated, increased in strength, and revitalized.

parts removed. Fig. 3 is a View of one of the precipitating-boxes and gage-receptacle partly in' section, the pipe connecting one of the said receptacles and one of the said precipitating-boxes in elevation, the float, devices for operating the float, and valves of one of said boxes shown partly in elevation and partly broken away, and one of said receptacles illustrated partly in section and partly in elevation. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the settling-tanks, the spent, the trough, the precipitatingboxes, the floats, gage-receptacles, and a portion of the sump-tank broken away, showing the connections ofthe said parts also in top plan view. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of one of the precipitating-boxes detached and with the electric connections attached and the pipes leading thereto removed, and Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of line 0; a; of Fig. 5.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The numeral 1 refers to the sump'tank, 2 2 the supports for the said tank, and 3 a suction-pipe having a valve 3 therein connecting the bottom of the sump-tank 1 with the lower end of the pump 4 near the upper edge of thepit 5, in which the stamped or crushed ore to be treated mixed with water and cyanid of potassium are deposited. Other chemical reagents may be added when the ingredients of the gold and silver ores subjected to treatment require the same to be done. Through the pump t the pulp of crushed ore mixed with Water and cyanid of potassium' is conveyed into the settling-tank 9, which, wit-h the other two settling-tanks 11 and 13, rest upon supports 7 7, as shown upon Fig. l of the drawings. As the pulp issues from the stopcock 6, attached to the pump 4:, it falls upon the perforated stop-board 8, which is secured to the free end of the said settling-tank 9, located under the stop-cock 6. A large portion of the said pulp at once settles in the bottom of the settling-tank 9, while the solution of gold and silver, the said metals dissolved by the cyanid of potassium, water, and other chemicals when used,'and some of the lighter particles separated from the mass of pulp are carried from the settling-tank 9 by the inflowing materials through the stop-cock 6 into the'settling-tank 11 under the current-board 10, secured to the upper edges of the said settling-tank 11. (Shown in dotted line upon Fig. 1 and in full lines upon Fig. 1 of the drawings.) When the said pulp is within the said settling-tank 11, as before mentioned in connection with the settling-tank 9, the present heavier and larger portion of the mass of pulp soon settles in the bottom of the settlingtank 11. The lighter portions in the tank 11 are carried by the solvent, the solution of that the current-board 10 is attached to the upper edges of the adjacent tank 11. Each of the two boards performs the same function in each of the respective tanks 11 and 13 to which they are attached. These currentboards 10 and 12, located in tanks Hand 13, respectively, prevent the heavy portions of the mass of in flowing pulp through the pump 4, thence through the stop-cock 6 into the said settling-tanks, from beingrapidly swept on by the current and to quickly settle in the lower portions of said settling-tanks, and they permit the solvent, the water and cyanid of potassium, holding the gold and silver in solution to tardily flow from one of said tanks to the other and over the spout 24 into the trough 26, through the pipes 29 29, thence through the pipes 30 30, and to fall into the precipitating-boxes 31 31. These masses of pulp in the bottoms, respectively, of the setfling-tanks 9, 11, and 13 by opening the. pulptaps 15, 13, and 21 quickly pass into the laundry-pipes 16, 19, and 22 and thence into the sump-tank 1, where the said masses of pulp again meet with the original solution from the precipitating-boxes 31 31 through the laundry-pipes 23 23, less the gold and silver it formerly held dissolved and which wasrecently'deposited in the precipitating-boxes 31 31 upon the plates contained therein, hereinafter to be referred to. This original solution of cyanid of potassium and water, regenerated, renewed in strength, and revitalized with chemical activity by the action of the electric current recently passed through it, is a second time or more, if necessary, remixed with the said masses of pulp which have accumulated and reaccumulated in the bottoms of the said settling-tanks 9, 11, and 13 and passed into the sump-tank 1 through the pulp-taps 15, 18, and 21 by means of laundry-pipes 16, 19, and 22, connected therewith.

The pipes 29 29, which convey the solution of cyanid of potassium and Water, with the gold and silver dissolved therein, have valves 63 63 located therein near the trough 26. Each of these pipes 29 29 near the edges of the precipitating-boxes 31 31, adjacent to the said trough 26, form two branch pipes 30 30. Each of said two pairs of branch pipes extends the entire length of the precipitatingboxes 31 31. These branch pipes 30 30 are provided with spouts or outlets 32 32(shown upon Fig. 1 of the drawings) opening downward, through which the cyanid of potassium and water solvent, carrying the gold and silver in solution, flows down into the precipitating-boxes 31 31, containing the iron plates 33 33 and the copper plates 34 34, alternately arranged in said boxes 31 31. These iron plates 33 33 and copper plates 34 34 extend from the bottom of the top of the precipitatlug-boxes 31 31 the entire depth thereof. In place of these iron plates 33 33 and copper plates 34 3t any other suitable anodes and cathodes may be substituted. The said iron plates have connected to them in any suitable manner the ends of the electric conductingwires 65, and the copper plates have connected to them in like manner the conducting-wires 66 66. All of the said conductingwires leading from the said iron-and copper plates in the two precipitating-boxes 31 31 are in turn united to one common conductor 67 at one end, and the opposite end thereof is connected to any electric supply or machine. (Not necessary to be shown upon the drawings.) These precipitating-boxes 31 31 are provided with inclined bottoms 35 35, made of iron or any other suitable material, and the said bottoms 35 35 are each provided with an upwardly-projecting stay-band 36, formed integral with the bottom 35, which stay-band is securely fastened, by means of bolts or rivets 37 37, to wooden boards, which form the sides and ends of the precipitatingboxes. Each of these boxes is also provided with a brace 39, usually made of wood, about the central portion thereof and a similar brace 40, made of like material at the top thereof. Each of these braces 39 and 40 extends around each of th ese precipitating-boxes on all sides, having their abutting ends fastened securely together by means of rods and nuts on their ends or any equivalent devices.

At the slanting and converging apices 38 38 of the bottoms 35 35 short pipes 42 12 are fastened by means of bolts, rivets, or by any other suitable devices. Through these short pipes 12 12 the solvent of cyanid of potassiu m and water, from which the gold and silver has recently been liberated and deposited upon the plates in the precipitating-boxes, but renewed and regenerated by the electric current, flows, and from these said short pipes into the laundry-pipe 23 to the sump-tank 1, there again to mingle with the old pulp mass from which it took its chemical equivalent or load of gold and silver or with a new and fresh charge of ore never before acted upon by the said solvent.

Each of the precipitatingboxes 31 31 near the bottom thereof is connected by means of the pipe 43 to the gage-receptacle 44, in which a float 46 is buoyed up, and the bottom of the said float is always at the same level in the said receptacle as is the level of the cyanid of potassium and water solution contained in the precipitating-box 31, to which the said receptacle is connected.

Projecting upward from the center of the top of each of the floats 46 46 is a rod 48, upon which perforated Weights 50 50 are securely held in place in order to steady the float and maintain the same in position within the gage-receptacle and to control the height of the solution in the precipitating-box. EX- tending across the top of each of the said floats 46 and projecting downward on either side of the float and its gage-receptacle 44 is a yoke 51, the two ends of which are united in one piece centrally below the said receptacle 51. The free end of said single piece is pivoted to the longer arm of the bell-crank lever The shorter arm of said bell-crank lever 52 at its free end is pivoted to the valverod 54, while the body or angle portion of said bell-crank lever is pivotallyconnected to the stay-band 36 of the inclined bottom 35 of the precipitating-box 31. The said valve-rod 54is pivoted to the free ends of the valve crankarms 56 56, so that when the said valve-rod 54 is moved in either direction by the rise and fall of the float 46 in its receptacle 44, through the movementof the yoke 51, pivoted to the long arm of the bell-crank lever 52, the valves in the short pipes 42 42 of the inclined bottoms 35 35 are open or closed and the cyanid solution flows out or is cut off-no longer continues to flowint-o the pipes 23 23 to the sumptank 1.

The operation of this invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto appended.

It is obvious that many variations and changes in the details of construction and arrangement of my invention would readilysuggest themselves to persons skilled in the art and still be within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I do not desire to confine this invention to the specific construction, combination, and arrangement of parts herein shown and described, and the right is reserved to make all changes in and modifications of the same as come within the spirit of this invention; but I do desire to secure as my invention all features of construction and equivalents thereof that come within the scope of my improvementas herein shown and described, and illustrated upon the drawings appended hereto.

Having described my invention, what I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. A precipitating apparatus for depositing gold and silver from a solution of cyanid of potassium and from other chemical solutions consisting of a precipitating-box for holding said solution, provided with valves and a series of electric conducting-plates, connected with a source of electric supply, a gage-receptacle having a float adapted to reciprocate therein, means for connecting the said precipitating-box and gage-receptacle, ayoke secured to said float, a valve-rod, devices for connecting said yoke and valve, rod and valves adapted to be operated by the rise and fall of the float within the receptacle.

2. A precipitating apparatus for depositing gold, and silver from a cyanid-of-potassium solution, and from other chemical solutions consisting of a precipitating box having valves in the bottom thereof and provided with a series of electric conducting-plates therein connected with a source of electric supply, a gage-receptacle in communication with the precipitating-box, a float within the gage-receptacle adapted to reciprocate therein, a yoke secured to said float, horizontallymovable valve-rod, devices for connecting the said yoke and said valve-rod, means for connecting said rod and valves whereby the rising and falling of the float within the gagereceptacle open and close the valves.

3. A precipitating apparatus for depositing gold and silver from a cyanid-of-potassium solution and from other chemical solutions comprising a precipitating-box having downward, inclined bottom with openings therein, valves located in said openings, said box provided with a series of electric conductingplates vertically arranged therein and connected with a source of electric supply, a gagereceptacle, a pipe communicating with said receptacle and with the precipitating-box through which thesaid solution passes back and forth, a float within said receptacle and adapted to reciprocate therein, a yoke secured to said float, a horizontally-reciprocating valverod, devices for connecting said yoke with said valve-rod, means for operating said valves in connection with valve-rod, and means for conveying said solution from said precipitating-box and returning the same thereto. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence 0 two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM B. MCPHERSON.

IVitnesses:

AMELIA GUEST, OWEN G. GATES. 

